As Drexel’s tallest building, Millennium Hall has sweeping views of Philadelphia and is home for 480 students. The site and client’s program requirements resulted in a 17-story vertical tower solution that maximized open space that is in short supply in the dense, urban fabric of the Powelton Village neighborhood.
Drexel’s history and reputation are heavily rooted in engineering and technology disciplines, so it seems only appropriate that those aspects of its built environment occupy a more prominent place in the conceptual infrastructure of the campus.
This building is the first at Drexel to establish and promote a design approach that embraces an integrated design team where the systems are the conceptual drivers. The Green Globes system is a building environmental design and management tool which delivers guidance for green building design, operation and management. This project has been awarded two Green Globes.
The dormitory plan strives to achieve a high level of efficiency by locating all stacked core elements toward the center of the plan and allowing the students rooms to radiate about the edge of the core. While the core maintains the same orientation the entire height of the building the students’ rooms rotate about the core. The dynamic form of the building generated from the simple shift of the student rooms from floor to floor. Each suite is anchored by a media room and a study lounge. These spaces flip sides, alternating every floor. The project is Green Globes certified.
Awards Received
2010 GBCA Construction Excellence Award Best Institutional
Project
2009 McGraw-Hill Award of Merit for Higher Education Project
2009 American Concrete Institute Grand Prize Award for
Innovative Use in Concrete Design and Construction
View Original